Lec 3 Flashcards
What do organisational psychologists do?
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS SPECIALISE IN ANALYSING ORGANISATIONS & THEIR PEOPLE, & DEVISING STRATEGIES TO RECRUIT, MOTIVATE, DEVELOP, CHANGE & INSPIRE.
What are some areas of organisational psychology practice?
- Psychometric Assessment (for selection and development)
- Organisational Change
- Organisational Development
- Training & Development
- Coaching, Mentoring & Career Development
- Health & Safety
- Human Factors
- Workplace research (e.g. Program evaluations; climate/culture surveys)
When do ethical guidelines apply to Organisational Psychologists?
- At work
- Sporting teams
- Social situations
- because you’re on Public register
What sorts of relationships might an organisational psychologist need to manage?
- Clients (individual, group & organisational)
- Supervisors
- Colleagues from own profession
- Other professionals
- Candidates
- Members of the public
- Students & registrars
What are 6 areas of ethics that are important to consider in org psych?
- rules and regulations
- rules of conduct
-values - ethical practices
- moral principles
- research
what are some extrinsic frameworks that may guide behaviour for an org psych?
code of conduct within organisation, employment, state, and federal laws
The accelerating concern for human rights has been progressed by:
- Civil rights laws
- Anti-discrimination cases
- Union agreements/negotiations
Concern for ethical behaviour in Organisational Psychology practice centres around psychologists’ obligations towards:
- job applicants/candidates
- employees
- employers/client organisation
- the public
What is the most important guideline and in organisational psychology which must come before everything?
Duty of care (interest of public safety must come first before all) Responsibility for ensuring individual needs are met/accommodated in a fair and ethical manner
How do you (as a psych) ensure duty of care is being met in an organisational context?
- Not discriminating (age, race, gender, disability etc)
- Ensuring all applicants have fair & equal opportunity
- Informed consent
- Privacy & confidentiality
- Ensuring the “safety” of the individual
If ethical processes are not adhered to in organisational psychology risks include:
- Negative impact on the outcome or the process (eg selection)
- Impact on the organisation’s performance & reputation
- Impact on the individual’s well-being
- Dispute or litigation
- Loss of psychologist’s registration
What codes, contracts or regulations apply to organisational psychologists in australia?
- The Australian Psychological Society (APS)
- Employment Law
- Organisational requirements
- Code of Conduct
- Any contractual agreements (scope of works etc)
What does the Qld Anti-Discrimination Act (1991) promote?
Promotes “fair treatment & equality of opportunity by protecting everyone from unfair discrimination, sexual harassment, and vilification in employment”
It is against the law to discriminate against people based on: (11 things)
- Family responsibilities
- Sexuality
- Gender identity
- Relationship or parental status
- Race
- Age
- Impairment
- Religious belief or activity
- Trade union activity
- Lawful sexual activity
- Pregnancy or breast-feeding
When was The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal Queensland developed and what does it do?
The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal Queensland was established under the AntiDiscrimination Act 1991: - to hear and determine complaints that the Act has been contravened
- to grant exemptions from the Act - if you have an org that says you can’t discriminate about this, but if they have a specific job for valid reasons they want someone from a specific culture or maybe they want a woman etc. they can get an exemption
- to provide opinions about the application of the Act
- you can make claims if you feel you were discriminated based on one of the above
- if you’re not sure if you’re doing something according to guidelines, can call APS
Legal and ethical issues apply to all aspects of the selection process, which include:
- job analysis
- initial screening
- interviews (phone or face-to-face)
- Psychological testing
- Assessment centre
- Final interviews
- Medical (some job selection processes will have medical as a part of that process, if thats the case, needs to be relevant to the role and needs to be justified)
- Reference checking
How do you ensure interviews are conducted ethically?
not just about making sure that your qs are free from discrimination, but that questions are same across all candidates (e.g. don’t want someone to think you are asking them about capacity to travel bc they have parental responsibilities)
How do you ensure Psychological testing is conducted ethically?
ensure tests you are using are valid & fit for purpose and making sure that you’re standardising tests for all applicants and that people have an understanding of that process
How do you ensure Reference checking is conducted ethically?
make sure free from subjective and objective bias
How do you ensure selection Criteria & Position Description’s are ethical and free from bias?
- must contain direct relevance to the knowledge, skills, & abilities of the job.
- Emphasis must be on abilities rather than personal characteristics.
- Job ads need to give the impression that ALL suitable applicants are welcome to apply and must
- Avoid references to sex, relationship status, age, race etc.
- Avoid irrelevant wording (e.g., glamorous, mature, youthful etc)
- Clearly outline the job, rather than irrelevant personal attributes
What should interviewers do when recruiting (3 things):
- ask comparable questions of each applicant
- Structured interviewing processes
- Behavioural interviews
- This should be stated
- provide equal opportunities for candidates
- Personal questions should NOT be asked unless SPECIFICALLY job-relevant
- Do not ask personal questions on either application forms or during interviews (unless DIRECTLY job relevant)
- Ask about criteria as opposed to asking about biased assumptions
- eg ask: “What is your availability each week for this work”
- DO NOT ask: “Do you have young children? Will this make you unavailable at certain times during the week?”
What is type 1 and type 2 error in interviews?
type 1 error - person is great at interview but not great at the job
type 2 error - person is not great at interview but great at the job
What can increase the likelihood of type 1 and 2 error in job interviews?
impression management by candidate (picking up on common interests and mentioning them)
on interviewer side - lack of consistency in interviews, subjective ratings for the same answer
Pre-employment tests & medicals are only appropriate when:
- specifically job-relevant e.g. medicals given to train drivers, pilots, truck drivers etc.
- relevance to the job is documented eg in job analysis/PD/job ad
What are 6 current issues in personnel selection?
- Requirement for non-traditional tests, eg., safety, leadership, emotional intelligence - may not necessarily be as rigorous or valid
- Use of some newer tests sometimes not properly researched
- Aging population & retaining x & y gens (with that comes diff levels of skill development and more career changes)
- Big data
- Social media profiling
- Gamification
What are some potential future directions and issues in organisational psychology?
- whole offices working remotely
- leading virtual teams
- implementing new technology
- Selection processes
- Assessment centres
- Interviews
